Easterly Investment Partners LLC Sells 15,047 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,047 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for approximately 1.2% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $14,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,980,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $83.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.94. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.58.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.